Food Drives -- what do people actually NEED?
I suppose this question is mainly directed towards people who've worked in shelters, food banks etc. I'd like to donate to one of these canned food drives that are run by pretty much everyone everywhere. What I'm wondering is, what are these places typically short of? I could just go to the supermarket and pick up random stuff off the shelves, but I feel like the distribution of what these drives is probably biased towards certain things, and they probably end up with surpluses and shortages.
Anyone know what is usually in short supply and would be good to donate?
Around here, you can buy pre-packaged "sets" of food to donate. They'll take a few selected items (peanut butter, mac & cheese, canned veggies etc.) in the store brand, toss them all in another cellophane bag, and put it on the shelf.
So they transport all this food to the store and add extra packaging, so that you can pay the store for it, put the food in a bin outside the store, and then have it transported again from there to the food drive collection center, where it gets unpacked and sorted along with everything else that's been donated, and then transported again from there to the soup kitchens and shelters. Absolutely ridiculous system. Maybe it would be halfway justifiable if they were employing homeless people to drive the trucks or something, but as is, the overhead is insane.
So they transport all this food to the store and add extra packaging, so that you can pay the store for it, put the food in a bin outside the store, and then have it transported again from there to the food drive collection center, where it gets unpacked and sorted along with everything else that's been donated, and then transported again from there to the soup kitchens and shelters. Absolutely ridiculous system. Maybe it would be halfway justifiable if they were employing homeless people to drive the trucks or something, but as is, the overhead is insane.
I'd say that you should try to select enough cans and/or boxes to build a complete, fairly nutritious meal or two (or whatever number you want to bump to) and leave it at that. Too often I've seen nothing but mac-and-cheese and green beans at these things. That's way too much starch and salt, and green beans are pretty lame as far as vegetables go. Throw in a can of kidney beans and a box of some rice thing for some complete protein. Grab some cans of canned pineapple (in juice, not syrup). Get cans of potatoes instead of the mac-and-cheese for the starch content, that way you skip a lot of the sodium. Artichokes, olives, low sodium spam (to me it tastes better than regular spam), asparagus, tomatoes, plain pasta, blah blah blah. It's going to be hard to build a proper nutritional balance out of shelf-stable food, but you can probably get a large proportion of the way there.
Most drives I've seen usually have something listing things that are particularly needed (and not always just food, diapers are commonly on the list). You could also consider donating money that they can use to purchase what they need. A Kroger that I used to shop at had little scan cards for $1, $5, $10, and $20 by the register that would charge you that amount and put it toward food for food shelves.
Tinned fruit (in juice) and jars of tomato pasta sauce could both be good on the health front.
The places you're looking to donate to, do they give out the cans to the homeless, or do they cook it and give away the food?
The places you're looking to donate to, do they give out the cans to the homeless, or do they cook it and give away the food?
Quote:Original post by capn_midnightYeah, people need nutrition. How they get it isn't so important as that they do. Just make sure whatever you buy has decent and varied nutrition content and you'll be good.
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For specific items, contact the group you'll be giving to.
My employer has a matching program for cash contributions, but they won't match goods. We have a big drive for cash and specific items, then get the money doubled.
Often the shelters can get better deals from stores since the stores can write off the difference as a charitable contribution, so they potentially get even more than if you had given goods. We have asked them in the past if they preferred specific goods or cash, and usually they want both cash and the items mentioned next.
Some items are harder for them to get than others. Locally we have cries for non-food items like toothpaste and toothbrushes, razors and shaving cream, shampoo and other hygiene items. They also love getting used items, such as toys like blocks and dolls, and secondhand clothes. For food they keep asking for high-protein items including peanut butter and canned fish like tuna and albacore, partly because it is hard to find those at discounted rates.
Your local shelter will have different requests.
My employer has a matching program for cash contributions, but they won't match goods. We have a big drive for cash and specific items, then get the money doubled.
Often the shelters can get better deals from stores since the stores can write off the difference as a charitable contribution, so they potentially get even more than if you had given goods. We have asked them in the past if they preferred specific goods or cash, and usually they want both cash and the items mentioned next.
Some items are harder for them to get than others. Locally we have cries for non-food items like toothpaste and toothbrushes, razors and shaving cream, shampoo and other hygiene items. They also love getting used items, such as toys like blocks and dolls, and secondhand clothes. For food they keep asking for high-protein items including peanut butter and canned fish like tuna and albacore, partly because it is hard to find those at discounted rates.
Your local shelter will have different requests.
Quote:Original post by SirisianQuote:Original post by Benjamin Heath
Money?
Crisp, new $20 bills really taste good. Plus they're high in fiber.
Donating money is better than going out and buying food to donate. With the money the charity can buy food at wholesale prices and get more food per dollars.
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